Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-08-13
NOVELIST AND BOSIFACE.
sns nSsssrRn pPOR WaOsD a08AsOD
IAitn - 1OO1ODD.
nss. ssSsass spsssaiso - - As'nss ~
favsrs- kespss- Jsssps satsA fsass1ssss
uss Pssassssss lsso Ne Dsse 81 0ss0sa.
a OssAssss ss 1assassss CsIis0ss

Amity. Pa. Corrss spondence " rittsburg Post
A neglected grave marked by ifagmsut
Of broken sandstone, c1h b found 1n Amiey's
old csmesssy, whore three quarters Of GO.
tury ego the dead were laid bsnealh the sod
from which he'd hardly iadsd the iooe prints
Of the Monougahelss, the Mingon end Ne
BhswnesA Yet around this uncarod.Soe
tomb centres much Of Interest 10 tho his.
torian. The chippsd and mutilassd seoue IN.
dicstss tho burial plscs Of Rev. Solomon
spaulding. IL was In Amity that he died,
leaving IN unpublished romance, 1.-THE
Manuscrips Found" which, falling Into the
hands Of Joseph Smith, became the scrip
.asss ss 9! ths Mormcn church, the so-callsd
The Rev. solomon spsuldlng was born In
SOnnocstcut In 1891, graduated In the Clans Of
Hs6, Dartmouth college, and immediatsly
entered the ministry Of tho Congregational
health failed and he We forced 70 abaudoo
BIS sacred calling and 20 Into business in New
York state Hts enterprises were ell unsuc-
co1Iui ana In few years ho hed failed
sCa'n, thi. time 70 meet paper f.llirs due
He then removed 70 Conneaut, Ohio and
embark ed again In On unsuccessful business
venture While reading here hs began writ
ing the mystic romance which JOseph smith
10 known tn have usod % freely. Rsmoving
70 Pi,tabarv In 1912 he left his manuscrips q
lishsd Tor several ysarA In the meantime
Journeyinan printer, sidney Rtgdou, made .
copy ot the novel which, through him, fell
Into Smith's hands, and wss Afterwards Trans
miued into the Book Of Mormon" The
historical evidences supporting this u -
nearly perfect ~ could bo wished, end ~
here can be little doubt - To tho oonclusi0n
Spaulding moved from Pittsburg 10
Amity in 1914, where he died Octobsr %,
1916 None OF the inhabitants OF the village
can date their personal "reminiscences back %
far ~ the death Of the famous divinA 0ov.
ersi years ago the last link was removed In
the death oi Joseph Miller, highly rospected
citizen. In his early days he wss well %
niien heard portions OF "Ths Manuscript
Found" fsad by the suthor II was Mr..
Miiier'a lot 10 make the q mn In which
kev. SPsuidiDR was buried. Tue tombstone
small chunk Of sandstone that once marked
the foot OF the grave can now bs seen. Evsn
this II fast disappearing. Every tourise feels
IN duty bound TO carry away smsll irax.
nent a. . relic. In couple OF years there
will be nothing to mark the grave unless the
good leopls of the neighborhood erect .
monument, - they have sometimes talked
OF doing.
The people of Amity, OF course, vsnerate
Spsnidink's memory. II II trsditionally
nsn, compelled To move around on crutches
and always In bad health. He was tho It,
erary lion of the pisce and was eulogizsd by
everybody. Some rather Wild views are
81 ned 70 have been promulgat BY him.
Spauldink's worldly sHs,rs WeIe In . bad
shape while he lived here. Tho novel
doubtless WAS written with . view to
pecuniAry compensation. He supported bis
family by keeping y hostslry, then quite
famous, scross from the present hotel. he
wss All AiiAblo landlord, had . good tSude
and, M says tradition, kept for sale an excel
lent brand Of whiskey. Tue old tavern
building II now occupied ~ . re~idence, but
II bears many Of the marks OF time Al the
death of the novelist, the family moved to
New York, and afterwards 10 Massachusetts,